Gazprom Refuses to Name and Shame Russian Authorities Falling Behind on Bills

March 29, 2017

Andrei Makhonin / Vedomosti

Russian energy giant Gazprom has
refused to name and shame regional governments for falling behind
on their gas bills.

Previous press releases by the company
had turned the spotlight on authorities who refused to pay up.

Gazprom's last debt report in 2016
slammed local governments in Russia's North Caucasus, reporting that
officials in the region owed more than 48 billion rubles ($845
million) — more than 80 percent of all money owned to the company
across Russia as a whole.

This year, the company took a
less-confrontational approach, declining to name its main debtors
despite a rise in outstanding payments. "Overdue payments remain
an urgent problem,” the company said in a press release. “In
2016, it grew by about 6 percent, amounting to 161 billion rubles
($2.84 billion) as of January 1, 2017.”

Some have seen the change as part of a
bid to appease Chechen leader Kadyrov after he locked horns with the
energy company last month.

business

Kadyrov, whose government forms a vital
part of Russia's North Caucasus region, accused Gazprom of using "worn
out" equipment. He said that the company's “bad management”
forced the Chechen people to live in “19th century
conditions."

“People pay for light, for gas, but
the money just doesn't get there,” Kadyrov said.

The Chechen government has long waged a campaign to see local energy assets handed over to Kadyrov's safekeeping.

The Kommersant newspaper reported in February that Russian oil giant Rosneft could sell its assets to the Chechen republic in a multi-billion dollar deal.

The Chechen government also took control of property
belonging to Chechenneftekhimprom — the state-owned company
that controls the republic's oil-refining and petrochemical industry
— in December 2015 after repeated requests to Russian President Vladimir Putin.